35 No Forgiveness For A Murderer

…That time, what I saw– no. I was hallucinating… 

"I, uh… still don't understand." Arthur said, playing dumb.

Harry stared at him for a moment, then stood upright, "Sigh… nevermind."

He walked back to his and Stephanie's tent in disappointment.

…So he's the brother that girl was looking for? I wonder how he got missing… Arthur watched as Stephanie glanced at him several times while interrogating Harry.

…

Not long after, a commotion could be heard from up ahead.

"Ah, thank goodness they're back."

"Welcome back."

"Dad!" One of the kids that were playing with Michelle called out and ran in direction of the noise.

The people were close enough. Arthur could recognise David Dolan leading in front.

"Luckily, we came back unharmed. Hand over the supplies to Steph, to help set the new people up. The men guarding the entrance should be doubled..." David continued dishing out orders.

…Th-Those shadows behind him… Arthur was petrified. 

He closed his eyes and opened them, but the 'shadows' behind David Dolan were still there. He started, horror-struck at the sight.

…Th-That can't be real. Yes. I'm hallucinating again…

He ran into his tent and cowered under the blanket, not letting even his head out.

Michelle, who had been watching him, noticed his fear-stricken face when his eyes landed on David Dolan followed by his retreat.

She turned to David Dolan but she only saw him give orders and assist in setting up the new individuals. Nothing out of the ordinary.

She turned her face back to Arthur's tent.

"Hmm…"

*  *  *

In a 2 mile radius from Saint Rose of Lima Church, many people laid flat on the ground, on roofs, on cars, on benches, and buildings.

A bright light covered the body of every single individual and the people that were in unfavourable situations were gently brought to the ground.

Slowly, everyone started waking up. Their heads were throbbing but it was bearable. 

Then they started muttering, "What happened? Why am I here… ", "When… did I end up here?", "What's… happening to my head? Am I… dead?"

"Come, children." The gentle and captivating voice of a female child with an undertone of dignity called out to every single individual silently.

Uniformly, they all slowly walked towards Saint Rose of Lima Church.

*  *  *

Mark was on his way to Damian's apartment. I need to find a way to contact his family, just in case… 

He was solemn about going back to Cranberry street and also about Damian's situation but there was nothing he could do for him. The emergency executive order was already being carried out.

"Sigh… Dammit. If he dies, that'll be another person's blood on my hand again…

"Another innocent blood on my hands…"

His eyes became watery. I'll turn myself in, apologies can't suffice. Their lives are already lost…

…

Mark arrived at Cranberry street about 7 minutes after he left the 84th precinct.

The carnage and horror left behind couldn't be expressed in words. 

Dead bodies were littered on the ground. Some vehicles were wrecked, others just had their doors open, a few had bodies in them, and one collided into a building. And to top it off, a plane crash site was just a mile away.

Clutch!

Mark stopped the truck and jumped down.

"Damn…"

The scene was horrific. Mark felt his stomach churn at the sight of the dead bodies.

He strolled to Damian's apartment block, recalling the events of the early parts of the 1st phase as he saw his police vehicle, Curtis's body, along with the body of the woman Curtis shot.

Standing in front of the apartment building, Mark stared at the shattered glass of the door lying on the floor.

He gently walked in and took in the sight. He could imagine the hell he reigned on the apartment residents.

When Damian brought him down here, he was too miserable and confused to observe better.

There were at least 20 dead bodies on the floor.

Mark walked close to the body of a white woman with a broken neck and a slightly protruding tummy.

He put a knee down and slowly closed the woman's eyes.

Suddenly, Mark saw himself, grab the woman by the neck with his left hand and slowly raise her.

The woman kicked and punched Mark but he just stood there, like a robot until she eventually lost her strength due to the chokehold.

"P… plea… se… am… preg---"

"Leave my mom alone!" A teenage boy about 17 years old, screamed at the tip of his tone as he charged towards Mark.

Bang!

Mark shot him at point-blank range in the head.

"Tom… my… nooo…" She held Mark's hands that were on her neck to try to loosen his grip.

Saliva was already drooling from her mouth and her eyes quivered as she tried to stay alive. 

Her eyes rolled upward and stopped twitching.

She stopped fighting. Her hands dropped to her side.

Crack… Her neck broke as Mark twisted his hand slightly.

Thud!

He let go of her lifeless body and shot her abdomen then walked away.

Mark immediately removed his hand from the corpse.

His face was filled with horror as the scene replayed in his mind.

He remembered the woman's expression as she begged for her life in his hand. 

He dropped his other knee while staring at the ceiling.

After spending a few seconds in his reverie, Mark looked at the woman's corpse. Her pained expression was still etched on her face.

He stood up and decided not to pay any of the people he killed their 'last respects' or else he might just commit suicide. Then he headed straight to the fourth floor, Damian's apartment floor.

…

Upon arrival by stairs, Mark was reminded of the bloody state of the fourth floor.

Creek… He gently opened Damian's apartment door and walked in slowly.

He looked around the living room but he found nothing about Damian's family.

He searched cabinets, bookshelves, drawers and even flipped the chairs out of frustration but still couldn't find anything.

"You won't find anything."

Mark sprung to the door and took his gun out and pointed it at the person that spoke.

"It's me! It's me!" Ivan raised his hands frightenedly.

"Why are you here?" Mark asked, still pointing the gun at Ivan.

"Please don't shoot! Please don't shoot!"

"Just tell me what the hell you were doing here!"

Ivan fell face forward with his knees on the ground and started shaking, "P-P-Please d-don't shoot…"

Mark stared at the helpless old man and lowered his gun.

"I won't shoot. Now tell me why you're here."

"I-I was waiting for you." Ivan slowly stood up.

…He knew I would come? No. He could most likely be lying… 

"And how do I know you're not lying?" Mark asked.

"I-I can tell you why David Dolan followed Damian, and why they aren't on good terms."

"That none of my business, and it doesn't answer why you're here…" Mark was convinced Ivan was lying, so he raised his gun to threaten him.

"W-Wait! Wait! Wait! You're looking for information about Damian's family, right? I-I know about Damian's family."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes! Yes! They're all dead. I'm not lying. P-Please don't shoot me…"